


Revelations

by Rookie2014



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24462943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rookie2014/pseuds/Rookie2014
Summary: Three Guardians discover a truth
Kudos: 6





	Revelations

It was quiet as the sun set over the mountaintops in the distance.  
Only the deafening crackle of the firewood burning away chipping into the somber mood.  
Stillness settles around them.  
Four guardians huddle around the makeshift campfire; Two Titans and two hunters. The titans sit to either side of one of the hunters, the lone other hunter sitting alone away from the huddle.  
A sharp hiss of air.  
The titan to the right of the hunter takes off his helmet and looks to the man sitting across the fire. The human’s emerald eyes attempting to convey the gratitude of his next words.  
“Thank you,” he says, “If not for you, we would be dead now.”  
He glances to his companions.  
“Our final deaths.”  
The hunter nods, but still does not speak.  
He has not spoken a word in the entire time, even during his valent rescue of the three across from him.  
Two additional sharp hisses of air.  
The fellow titan pulls off his helmet as the hunter pulls back her hood and pulls her helmet free. The dark hair of the men contrasting greatly with the fiery locks of the Hunter.  
“My name is Carter,” says the first, “And you have my thanks and gratitude.”  
“I’m Singe,” says the fiery hunter. Her oceanic eyes telling a story of gratitude and curiosity. A need within her to know the face and name of their rescuer.  
“And I’m Pickles,” said the last titan, “Great shooting back there.”  
A grin comes to Pickles’ face.  
“Almost as good as me.”  
Singe suppresses a laugh and smiles  
“Cracking jokes at a time like this? We all know you avoid Shaxx’s Crucible because everyone else shoots faster and better than you.”  
Pickles began his rebuttal with a smirk, but Carter put up a hand for him to wait.  
“Not yet, please,” he said, “You two can continue your nuanced conversation of The Crucible in a moment. For now, though, please, let us thank our guest.”  
The half hearted argument quelled, they all turned their attention back to the Stranger.  
The tension in the Stranger’s shoulders is visible even through the fine material hood and armor he’s wearing. A light whisper can be heard as his ghost whispers to him.  
He takes a deep breath, lets it out with a sigh, the tension leaves only a bit, and he finally spoke.  
“Please don’t think any less of me.”  
The mood around the fire changed in an instant, from gratitude and thanks to shock and confusion.  
A final sharp hiss of air.  
The stranger reached up, removed his hood and helmet, and looked back at trio with sorrow and fear laden in his golden eyes.  
Carter froze.  
“You were…”  
Singe was on her feet in an instant, her eyes alight with solar flame, her hand beginning to glow.  
“Carter!” Pickles yelled, “Defense!”  
Before Pickles had yelled the second word, Carter pulled himself out of his stupor and shock and pulled the power of the void through his veins, formed a circular shield upon his arm, and leapt forward.  
Singe planted her foot in the center of the campfire and sent the embers flying as the logs scattered, a perfectly formed gun made of golden fire in her hand aimed directly at the now crouching Stranger’s head.  
Carter heard a surge of electric power behind him but didn’t turn to look. He had a job to do, no matter what happened next.  
As Carter charged for the man, he heard a scream behind him as Singe poured every ounce of solar energy that she could muster into a single bullet to be fired from that brilliant gun.  
Carter came to a stop in from of the man whose eyes now held resignation along with the sorrow, turned to face the brilliant death that could very well await him, brought up his shield, and braced it with both arms.  
A Gunshot pierces the silence.  
The golden bolt of pure solar energy, as intense or even more so than the shot that took down Yor, split the short distance and impacted the shield that was held in defense of a stranger.  
The shield split between Carter’s arms and broke in two, the energy of the break and the bolt throwing him, smoking from every piece of his armor, back into the longer grass at the edge of their small clearing.  
Singe screamed in rage, furious at the denial of her kill, reached for her knife, only for Pickles to reach her, consumed with Arc energy to try to reach her in time, and restrain her.  
She lashed out, spinning in place, bringing her knife around to cut free of whatever was restraining her and embedded the knife deep into Pickles’ pauldron to the point her blade tasted blood.  
She tried to pull the blade free but it held tight.  
She screamed again and punched Pickles in an attempt to drive him to the ground.  
And when her gauntlet struck his bare head, she did just that.  
Singe froze.  
“No,” she said, “No, no, no, NO!” her last word a scream as she dropped to her knees next to her friend.  
“It’s alright!” said a lilting female voice. As Bubbles appeared and began to mend Pickles’ wounds.  
Singe dared a look over to see Rook, Carter’s Little Light, already working to awaken the unconscious Titan over in the shadows.  
As the Little Light moved from his arm to his head, Singe put her head between her hands and stared wide eyed at the ground beneath her.  
“Wha-” is the only word to escape her lips.  
As Carter awoke, he saw only the barest hint of an outline of a man with guilt ridden golden eyes piecing through the dark.  
“Are you alright?” he asked.  
Carter nodded and held out a hand.  
“Help me up.”  
The Stranger did so and had only one question to ask.  
“Why?”  
Carter looked the Stranger in the eye, and decided, against the edict of Guardians knowing where they came from, he would at least tell him enough.  
“Your past life,” Carter started as they walked towards the ruins of the campfire.  
“Your life you can’t remember, was a life of hardship, pain, and pain dealt. A part of that pain dealt caused the final death of someone almost all guardians hold dear.”  
Pickles was back up now, and moving towards the kneeling Singe.  
“You aren’t guilty of that pain, but I can only imagine that you have been greeted by nothing but pain in this new life, a Hellish Punishment in which you don’t remember the Sin.”  
Singe was crying now, horrible, strangled tears as Pickles comforted her from her rage that had almost killed her best friends.  
As Pickles did this, he was also holding her back from trying to kill the Innocent Stranger again.  
Singe’s Ghost, Boo, was now also trying to comfort the Hunter, as her tears and cries of internal pain just got worse.  
“I know,” said The Stranger, “Many other Guardians who I have met before you three have acted the same as Singe here. I’d figured that I had hurt all of the Guardians pretty heavily.  
“I meant why did you protect me? No one else has.”  
Carter paused for a moment, tried to take in how horrible this poor man’s new life had already been, and couldn’t fathom it.  
He took a moment to form his reply, and finally answered the question.  
“There is something the Vanguard Commander, Zavala, has said.”  
Carter began to speak in his worst Zavala impression.  
“‘We take our first breath, with no memory of who we were before, and yet we are inexorably drawn to the light. We fight, die, and we live again. We know that we were chosen for a reason, by something greater than ourselves.’”  
Both The Stranger and Carter turned as Singe began to laugh. A bit feebly but the attempt was there.  
“That was a horrible impression.”  
Carter made a face at her and then continued to address The Stranger.  
“My point is, besides my horrible impression, is that we don’t get to decide who is worthy of being a Guardian. Your Little Light, your Ghost, saw something in you that said you would be a worthy wielder of the Light. And no matter personal feeling on the matter, we need to look out for each other. Especially in the days ahead.”  
The Stranger looked back to Carter.  
“How so?”  
“Something is coming. We don’t know much but the way the Vanguard have been talking and how fierce the fighting has recently gotten, it’s big. We’ll need every Guardian on deck when it gets here but for now, we’re preparing.”  
“And this is where you tell me I need to come to The Last City.”  
Carter turned to the weariness in the poor man’s voice, the sorrow and anticipation of how a city full of Guardians would welcome him.  
“Not yet,” Carter said with a smile. “In your own time and when you feel you can face what will befall you. I won’t lie. It’ll be hard. But it may be worth it to try at least once. And if you do come by…”  
Carter reached into one of the pouches on his armor and pulled out a deck of cards. He splayed them and gestured the Stranger to take one.  
The Stranger does so, looks at the card he drew, and showed it to Carter. Carter smiled and continued.  
“Give that to the Postmaster. That will let me know you’re at the Tower and it’ll give me the chance to show you around a bit. There’s a nice Ramen Shop up there and, for that first trip especially, it’s all on me.”  
The Stranger nodded, picking up his headgear and putting the playing card under the lining of his helmet as he donned it.  
A hiss of air.  
“Thank you.”  
And with that, the Stanger departed pulling up his hood and walking into the night, his cape shimmering in the faint moonlight.  
After watching the man go, Carter kneeled next to Singe, who had mostly stopped crying.  
“I’m so s-,” she began.  
“Don’t be,” Carter interupted, “I can’t imagine what you are going through right now but just know that Pickles and I are here for you, no matter what. We’re a team. A family. And nothing is going to change that.”  
Singe’s eyes welled up again and looked to Pickles, who nodded in affirmation to what Carter had said.  
As Singe wiped away the new waves of tears, Carter stood and reached out with both of his hands and brought the two others to their feet.  
“So what now?” asked Pickles, looking into the shadows where The Stranger had disappeared, “How do we proceed after this little revelation?”  
“I’d say we should keep it to ourselves,” said Singe, “You guys saw how I reacted to seeing his face. We don’t need people specifically coming out here to hunt him down.”  
“Agreed,” said Carter, “He’s had enough pain without us adding to it.”  
“Then we are in total agreement,” said Pickles, “But when the Vanguard finds out? Or The Young Wolf? What do we do then?”  
“I’m going to vouch for him,” said Carter. “Whoever he was before and what that person did was unforgivable. But he’s a different person now, and he deserves to be allowed to figure out who that is.”  
“What makes you say he is a different person?” asked Singe, genuinely curious.  
“If that man had any of the inclinations of Uldren Sov, Rook would have had to revive me instead of just heal me. He had a knife in hand to defend himself when I jumped in front of him to protect him. He could have stabbed me while I was unconscious and run while you two protected Rook and my body.”  
“But he didn’t,” said Pickles.  
“He made certain you were going to be okay,” said Singe.  
“Exactly,” said Carter. “The future is hard to predict, and we don’t know how the cards will fall. So for now, let’s head home and just report the mission success.”  
As their Ghosts appeared and began the process of bringing their ships into transmat range, Pickles turned to Carter.  
“So, speaking of cards, and a general curiosity, what card did our new friend draw?”  
Carter chuckled and smiled to himself before he replied.  
“What other card could it be? He drew The Ace of Spades.”


End file.
